Odorizzi, Twins Top Yankees 7-3; Andjuar 2 Errors In Return
NEW YORK (AP) — Jonathan Schoop thought he'd hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning, only to see Yankees right fielder Cameron Maybin run back, jump and stick his glove over the wall to make the catch.
"I thought for sure off the bat that it's going to go," Schoop said.
It was the kind of play that might have ultimately cost the Minnesota Twins any momentum in their bid to get a win at Yankee Stadium. But they persevered, and Schoop delivered a big RBI single in the eighth Saturday in a 7-3 win over New York.
The Twins had lost nine straight times at Yankee Stadium, including the 2017 AL wild-card game loss when they took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Their last win in the Bronx was June 26, 2016, a season in which Schoop hit 25 homers while playing every game for the Baltimore Orioles.
After opening this series with a 6-3 loss on Friday, Jake Odorizzi and the Twins rebounded nicely by never trailing and holding off a late charge. Mitch Garver and C.J. Cron homered off J.A. Happ (1-3) and Nelson Cruz went deep in the ninth.
Minnesota had an early 2-0 lead when Schoop came up with two on and two outs. He hit a ball that appeared to have enough to go into the seats but instead Maybin raced back made the catch.
After the Yankees scored twice in the seventh, Schoop quieted some of the crowd with a single to make it 6-2.
"Every run does matter and there is a good energy for certain teams in certain stadiums," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "The Yankees definitely have that here and anytime that you just kind of quell that and just kind of shut it down and tack on an extra run, I think it does matter."
The Twins also won for the second time in their last 15 games in New York and are 10-26 at the current Yankee Stadium, their worst mark in any ballpark.
"When Maybin made that catch that kind of shifted the momentum," Odorizzi said. "A defensive play like that can kind of get things going for them, and I've seen it happen many, many times here."
Odorizzi (4-2) kept up his impressive run, pitching two-hit ball over six shutout innings. He won his fourth start in a row, having outdueled Justin Verlander and the Astros 1-0 in his previous outing.
This time, he allowed only a single to DJ LeMahieu leading off the third — he was picked off first base — and a single to Miguel Andujar in the sixth.
"Historically, we haven't played too well here, before my time and even last year," Odorizzi said. "So, it's good to finally get that win that we've been searching for I think three years, whatever it's been."
Odorizzi struck out eight and worked around four walks.
Gary Sanchez homered for New York, his third in two games.
The Yankees activated third baseman Miguel Andujar from their abundant injured list after he missed 28 games with a shoulder tear. He went 1 for 3 with a walk but also made two errors, misplaying a grounder early and later making a wild throw.
"First game back, good to have him back, obviously," manager Aaron Boone said. "Obviously, a couple misplays in the field. Bounced back, made a couple good plays out there, but that's just something we're going to have to continue to grind through."
Twins reliever Trevor Hildenberger allowed two runs in the seventh on a wild pitch and an RBI single by LeMahieu. Blake Parker finished the inning by retiring Luke Voit but allowed a long homer to Sanchez to start the eighth.
Taylor Rogers closed with a perfect ninth.
TIME CHANGE
The start time for Sunday's series finale has been moved back three hours to 4:05 p.m. The change was prompted by inclement weather in the forecast early in the day.
UP NEXT
Twins: RHP Michael Pineda (2-2, 6.21) was 31-31 with a 4.14 ERA in 89 starts from 2014 to 2017 with the Yankees. He has allowed 15 runs in his last three outings.
Yankees: RHP Domingo German (5-1, 2.56) has walked only two in his last three starts.
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